The Roots of Happiness
by TheOrdinaryCes
Summary: The little princess of Arian often wondered about those two old toys. Every fortnight, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Arian would spend time maintaining their Gunplas, always seeming to remember...something. Inspired from the final part of GBFT: Island Wars: of how the girl came to Earth, and of Aila's thoughts during that final scene. EDITED: January 23, 2018.


Edited: January 28, 2018

I do not own Gundam Build Fighters or Gundam Build Fighters Try. In fact, I don't have the slightest bit of ownership rights to the Gundam Franchise.

This story is inspired from the final scene of Gundam Build Fighters Try: Island Wars, as well as the questions about the child's appearance and intentions.

This is my first time writing fanfiction. Reviews and comments will be appreciated!

* * *

" **The Roots of Happiness"**

By JadeKazanari 

The little princess of Arian often wondered about those two old toys. One was white and tall; the other, green and short. One was of a slim, and of a humanoid appearance; the other was of a bulkier, pudgier build. One was championed by her father, the other boasted by her mother. Both are time-worn yet well-cared for.

It wasn't as though they were rare. In Arian, almost every household has one of those odd robots, also called "Gunpla". Mashita and Co., the formerly small toy stall at the market square and the originator of the said so-called Gunpla, has made a fortune dominating the country's toy market industry. Children and even grown men and women could often be seen running around with one of those. The little princess' own father, the Crown Prince of Arian, had even commissioned the royal blacksmiths and engineers to build small arenas where the population could make the models move and fight using some of the royal family's prized arista gems. This only fueled the popularity of Gunpla, and now hundreds if not thousands of different types of it are being sold not just in Arian but to surrounding nations as well.

So no, it wasn't rare. And her parents could easily have thrown away their old models and bought new ones.

Yet every fortnight, at the night ending the week's workdays, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Arian would carefully lift both Gunpla from their places in front of the palace windows in their bedroom chambers and...clean them. It wasn't just cleaning, though, since her parents would sometimes repaint them as well, among other things.

It was a sacred tradition for the little princess. Although her parents would usually do it behind closed doors and without any of the servants and guards flanking them, she would often peek through the small gap at the door or climb up the air vents in the ceiling to watch the two at work (once, she tried peeking through the window and scared her mother to death). Each and every time, she never failed to be amazed by the focus her parents, particularly her father, would give to those small models that barely fit their hands. Sometimes the two would banter back and forth as they usually did; sometimes they'd stay quiet all throughout, exchanging small smiles. Always, their shoulders would slowly relax as the burden of running a country was momentarily lifted from their shoulders. Always, they seem to remember…something.

There was a connection to her two parents, and to those old Gunpla, that the little princess never understood.

One day, curiosity finally gave out, and she barged in while her parents were in the middle of dusting the toys. Both looked up at her in surprise. "Shouldn't you be in class?" Her mother asked with the kind of affectionate disapproval that all mothers kept in reserve for their children. Her father, never one to care much for such formal classes (unless it involved actual combat), was more lenient.

She asked them about the Gunpla. "Can't you just buy new ones?" she finally asked.

"Ah," her father ruffled her hair, and she glowered at him. "You wouldn't want us to throw these away. They're special."

"Special?"

Her father looked wistfully at the white model he was holding. "They hold lots of memories."

"Like?" She couldn't hide the impatience in her voice. Couldn't they just tell her?

Her mother smiled fondly, eyes twinkling. "Like how I met your father," she held her green Gunpla aloft. "We met because of Gunpla, didn't we, Reiji?"

"No, we met because your mother stole my meat buns." Her father sat cross-legged at an overstuffed armchair and pouted comically.

"I didn't _steal_ them, I bought them first!" she exclaimed and glared at him, and he held up his arms in mock surrender, grinning widely.

The little princess couldn't help but giggle. Her parents are a lot like this. Usually she'd take one side and tease the other, but she has pressing matters right now. "So you met because of them?" she pointed at the Gunpla.

"Well, not these ones, but yeah," her father nodded. "Your mother and I—we both fought at the 7th Gunpla Battle World Championships. I won, of course," he added proudly.

"Gunpla…World…?" the princess was confused. Was there something like that?

"Ah, not here in Arian, no," her father said, seeing her confused expression. "In Earth. They had those…" his face took on a faraway look. "…and it was really fun. Maybe you'll get to enter someday." He held up the Gunpla again. "We got these from Earth, too."

 _Earth._

She had heard about it, of course. A planet filled with people like them, but is also very different. Her father would sometimes tell her stories of the towering spires and glass buildings that rose outward to the clouds, different from their colonies and buildings that seem to go inward to the ground. Technologically, neither is more advanced than the other, although their kinds of gadgets are distinct from each other.

She had hoped to see that one day. And now she knew what she would do when she did.

* * *

Almost a year later, she got the most important present of her life. Nestled in between a large floral hair clip of her favorite flower and color is a small blue gemstone—an arista. They were rare gemstones that the Arian Royal Family kept (although her father had used some for the said Gunpla battle arenas). He gave it to her for her fifth birthday.

"It'll grant any wish," he had said, as he clipped it to her purple locks.

She had walked around for a few days, pondering what her wish would be. She is still a child, with simple wishes, and as princess she is provided with everything she needs. What more could she want?

The answer came at the end of the week. As she watched the easy companionship and unbreakable connection between her parents—and the Gunpla—she knew what her wish was.

She wants her own Gunpla, too. Not just any Gunpla, but the Gunpla that came from Earth and the connection that came with it.

She had vanished in a blink of red light, startling the maids cleaning nearby.

* * *

Aila climbed up the grassy path that led to the top of her favorite hill. There, she was greeted with the view of rolling hills and green pastures, of fields filled with bright flowers and a picturesque town that spread as far as the eye can see. Directly in front of her is the large stone castle and fortress that she had called home for the past eight years. Framing everything was a deep blue fragmented sky that came with living in the various colony-structures of Arian.

Although she had lived there for almost a decade—and would probably live there for more decades to come—the awe of reality never faded. Aila had grown up in the streets, parentless and without any relatives, with no place to call a home and not even a proper bed to sleep in. She eventually found a solid roof to shelter upon, but it came with the price of becoming a mere weapon for a rich scion's grandson's wishes. Her younger self had been _content_ with that. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't in the streets either.

Then she met Reiji, and everything changed. She took risks, followed her heart, made the choice of wishing to be with him, and found a family and a home in Arian.

She smiled briefly at the thought.

She looked around, hoping to see the sole purpose of her unintended hike up the hill, but to no avail. She was alone. Half of her already knew that; her ability to see and feel Plavsky particles came with its merits, such as knowing if someone from the family is using the arista to travel (which causes the particles to condense thickly at one area). The other half of her—the part that hopes for her errant child who had been missing for more than a day to come home—hoped to see the young girl running towards her arms.

She was really going to kill Reiji. Who gives an arguably reckless, carefree little girl a planet-travelling device for her fifth birthday?!

To be fair, the arista has other properties apart from teleporting people across space (and possibly time). But still…

It didn't help that Aila couldn't follow her daughter to wherever she went. She has her own arista, given to her years ago by Sei Iori and China Kousaka, but no matter how much she wished to go to where her daughter is the stone won't respond. Aila couldn't understand why.

Reiji told her not to worry, that their daughter will be fine, that the arista stones—connected as they are—probably have its reasons for not granting her wishes and for speeding their daughter away. Aila, now used to seeing beneath his happy-go-lucky, rather cocky attitude, knew that he was hiding his own apprehension. Reiji's father, the King, had a good laugh at him last night and said that now Reiji knows how it felt when Reiji would vanish for months during his explorations of both Arian and Earth.

(The full force of the royal guards was off searching the country for the little princess, in case she suddenly appeared).

Aila remained standing on top of the hill, looking out towards her home. Despite the place being deserted, something told her that she'll see her daughter here, sooner or later.

A few minutes later, the distinct blue particles seemed to converge somewhere behind her. She blinked, dispelling the sight of a thousand small pinpricks of light whizzing past. Then—

"Mama!"

And there she was. The errant little princess of Arian. Hers and Reiji's pride and joy, and miracle.

There was no hint of fear or alarm in her daughter, only pure joy, as she ran from the thicket of trees to her waiting arms. Aila held her tightly for a moment, relief and happiness coursing through her veins. She barely had time to think _she's safe_ before her daughter abruptly pulled away and proudly showed something clutched in her left hand.

"I was making a Gunpla!"

Aila drew back, pleasantly surprised. "What?"

 _How…_

Her daughter's smile widened even more. "Making Gunpla is fun!" is her answer, those four words holding so much depth and meaning.

This time, she allowed herself to really smile. "You're right," she said, as memories washed over her. Of Gunpla battles fought in a planet far away, of friends she hadn't seen in a long time, of the taste of meat buns and other food that the palace cooks never seem to get right. Of Reiji, still brash and impulsive yet also kind and warm and honorable to a fault, even up to now.

She held her daughter's hand as she stood, and together they turned to look at their home.

"Thanks to Gunpla, Mommy was able to meet Daddy."

 **END**

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I thought I'd end it here. I was going to insert another scene afterwards, showing Reiji, but I thought this is a nicer ending. Had to write this since it's been kicking around in my head for a couple of days now. I might edit this later, since I think it's all over the place. Couldn't think of a title, and "Roots of Happiness" by Elizabeth Elias was playing in the final scene of GBFT: IW, so I used that.

Thanks for reading, and if you have time, please review!

Finished: August 9, 2017; Edited: January 23, 2018


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